British Airways ice in fuel report triggers urgent review of air safety

05:58

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch warned that "immediate action" must be taken out to assess whether the problem which caused the Boeing 777 accident could affect other aircraft.

It also demanded that Boeing put in place new safety measures to ensure that planes travelling at high altitude in temperatures far below freezing do not suffer a potentially disastrous build up of ice in their fuel systems.

The recommendations were made in a report into the crash in January in which a BA 777 flying from Beijing crash landed short of the runway with 136 passengers and 16 crew on board.

One passenger suffered a broken leg and 12 others minor injuries in the worst aviation accident at Heathrow in more than 30 years.

There are nearly 700 Boeing 777s in service and they are one of the workhorses of the skies for long-haul flights.

They include 220 planes powered by the Rolls Royce Trent 800 engine involved in the Heathrow accident, currently operated by 11 airlines, including British Airways.

Aviation experts expressed concerns that it was largely due to "good fortune" that the accident, the worst incident at Heathrow since 1972 when 118 people were killed after a BEA Trident crash, had not been worse.

Passenger groups called for airlines to take all necessary steps to ensure there was no repeat.

Kieran Daly, editor of the online news service Air Transport Intelligence, said: "There was a considerable degree of good fortune here which prevented this being a truly catastrophic accident.

"Nevertheless it is literally a one in several million chance that this happened. As ever in the aviation industry, people are being extremely cautious about this."

Simon Evans, chief executive of the Air Transport Users Council, said: "At first sight this appears to raise issues that the aviation industry and safety regulators must look at very closely. Clearly they need to satisfy themselves that there are no long-term safety implications for this aircraft and indeed others. Although this appears to be a one off incident, considerable research is vital to ensure that it remains so."

The AAIB said early indications were that the plane lost power after the flow of fuel dropped shortly before the plane was due to land.

It believes this was because the flow of fuel was stopped by a build up of ice, which had formed as the plane travelled across Siberia, where the temperature dropped to -49F (-45C) and fuel temperatures fell to -29F (-34C).

It meant that the aircraft lacked the thrust needed to bring the plane down normally.

Measures recommended by the AAIB to avoid a repetition of the incident include pilots increasing the power to the engines when passing through especially cold patches at high altitudes in order to melt any ice forming.

It comes at a time of heightened public concern about flying following a series of incidents involving passenger planes, including the crash at Madrid airport in which 153 passengers died.

Shortly after the publication of the report a spokesman for the American Federal Aviation Administration said it would be telling American operators of the Boeing 777 to ensure that aircraft and their engines can cope with a sudden build up of ice.

The AAIB findings come in an interim report and the final report is still to be published at a date to be finalised.

Stuart Smith, a pilot, said: "Technically it is possible that the amount of ice could have overwhelmed the part of the engine designed to melt it.

"But I have never heard of this happening before. Planes have been flying in similar atmospheric conditions for years.

"I would say that this is a one off, I have never come across anything like this in 30 years."

Andrew Davis, a Boeing company spokesman, said: "This is an extremely unique and rare incident, and we will do everything we can to ensure the safety of the passengers that travel on these planes.

"We have devised a number of operational changes designed to prevent water ice accumulating in the fuel supply system in Rolls Royce powered planes.

"In our analysis so far we have not been able to replicate this phenomenon with other engines, but we will be looking at all our airframe-engine combinations to see if any are subject to these conditions."

A BA said: "There are no safety recommendations specific to British Airways. We will work closely with the relevant regulatory authorities and comply with any requirements issued to all operators of Boeing 777s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines.

"As an additional precaution we have already taken a number of actions ahead of today's developments. "

Neil Williams, a spokesman for engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, said: "While the investigation into this accident continues, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the exact cause and we continue to fully support the on-going investigation."

The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), said the report underlined the heroism and professionalism of the pilots during the crash.